Dr. Oz amalgam claims challenged by Johns Hopkins professor

by Billy Tarpley on April 22, 2013

ADA Leadership Update from Dr. Faiella – April 19

A blog article directly critical of the recent Dr. Oz television show on amalgam fillings was published April 9 on Forbes.com. The article was authored by Steven Salzberg, a Ph.D. Professor of Medicine and Biostatistics in the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a frequent contributor to the Forbes website.

The views expressed by Salzberg, known for his criticisms of pseudoscience, are consistent with the ADA’s assertion that the “Oz” episode, entitled Are Your Silver Fillings Making You Sick?, was based largely on junk science about the safety of dental amalgam.

“Unfortunately, Dr. Oz sometimes demonstrates a poor understanding of science,” said Salzberg. “One problem with taking a skeptical look at a Dr. Oz’s show is that he packs each episode with scientific claims, coming at you thick and fast, and it would take hours to critique them all.” The article went on to debunk some of the Dr. Oz show’s specific claims, “Which illustrate Oz’s lack of concern for accuracy, and his apparent ignorance of the underlying science about dental fillings.”